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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · Benin · Africa

Cotonou

Littoral · Benin
City population
679,012
#1
in Benin
#817
worldwide
Porto-NovoCotonou
6.365, 2.418 · 25 km from Porto-Novo
City population
679,012
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Benin
#1
of 66 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#817
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Benin
4.6%
of the national population

About Cotonou

Lying 25 km from Porto-Novo, Cotonou holds 679,012 residents and accounts for 4.6% of Benin's population. The city is surrounded by several substantial settlements: Abomey-Calavi (385,755) sits 12 km away, Godomè (253,262) lies 8 km distant, and Ekpé (75,313) is 13 km off. Cotonou ranks as the largest city among the 66 listed in Benin.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Benin
#1of 66
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Benin
Region
Littoral
Distance to capital
25 km
to Porto-Novo
Elevation
7 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Porto-Novo
Coordinates
6.365, 2.418
Record updated
2023-11-29
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 66 in Benin

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

8KMGodomè253K people12KMAbomey-Calavi386K people13KMEkpé75K people22KMSemi24K people25KMPorto-Novo264K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Cotonou679K
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Cotonou compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Cotonou679K

Cotonou Population FAQ

What is the population of Cotonou?

Cotonou has a city population of 679,012. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Cotonou?

Cotonou is in Littoral, Benin, 25 km from the capital, Porto-Novo. Its coordinates are 6.365, 2.418.

How big is Cotonou compared with other cities in Benin?

It is the 1st largest of the 66 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Benin, holding 4.6% of the national population.

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